At its most recent meeting, the District 219 Board of Education discussed two potential  major policy changes: making lunch mandatory for all students and starting the school year a week and a half earlier in order to have finals before Winter Break.

The move to make lunch mandatory is not uncommon. Around the country, in schools as close as our neighbor New Trier, the lunch question has been kicked around by parents, students and administrators. Some believe that it’s important for students to have a lunch period, not only for the purpose of eating lunch and staying nourished but also to allow their minds to take a break from their rigidly scheduled  coursework. Others, though, believe that providing students the opportunity to drop their lunch in order to take an additional class gives those students an edge when it comes to college applications.

When discussing the matter, the Board members brought up these issues and several others. President Robert Silverman said that “some students count on that period,” acknowledging that some students drop their lunch in order to fit in a class they wouldn’t have room for with a lunch period. This school year,  74 Niles North students and 95 Niles West students don’t have a lunch period in their schedules.

The classes that students add in are typically electives since their academics have already been added to their schedule. Senior Zain Lakhani is thankful for the opportunity to drop his lunch as it introduced him to a field that could potentially influence his career path. During his junior year, Lakhani dropped his lunch to take AP psychology and accounting.  “If I wasn’t able to take accounting, I would never have joined DECA, nor would I have been open to the world of business.”

“This, I think, is a major change,” Silverman said. Sensing that the topic was of great importance to parents and students especially, Silverman suggested that it be put through next year’s Annual Review of Programs, which has served as a mechanism for students and parents to voice their opinions on major policy and curriculum changes.

The Board also discussed starting the school year a week and a half earlier in August in order to have finals before Winter Break.

Superintendent Dr. Nanciann Gatta prepared a prototype schedule for the 2014-2015 school year for the Board to examine at the meeting, though the policy change could go into effect as early as 2013-2014 should it be approved. The mock calendar for 2014-2015 started on Aug. 14, 2014 and ended on May 22, 2015.

While there are advantages to starting the year this early, including having first semester end before break to give students true “down time,” as Gatta put it, the Board raised many concerns about the issue.

Silverman showed concern about inequity in terms of semester length and inconsistency with both feeder districts’ and colleges’ schedules. “Many parents have more than one student and they’re not all in high school,” he said. “We have to somehow connect our calendars the best that we can.”

Gatta countered that this issue, which has come up several times before in the last decade, has been and is again being discussed with the superintendents of each feeder district.

Some advantages of starting and ending the year earlier are the fact that students could get a head-start on college-level summer school classes or searching for summer jobs and that AP teachers will be able to start their material a bit earlier. Board member Ruth Klint also pointed out that students participating in athletics and fine arts are often in the school before the first day anyway.

Board member Eileen Valfer expressed concern that the earlier start would affect students attending overnight camps that return shortly before the 14th and could prevent some families from taking vacations. “In theory I think it’s great,” she said. “[But] I think it’s important [that we] promote family togetherness.”

“If we can make this work for [our community], then I’m for it,” Silverman said.

For the time being, the Board is continuing to research and discuss the topic.

PHOTO BY JAKE KAUFMAN